Places We Stay : Uematsuya, Bessho Onsen

I've wrote about us going to Uematsuya located in Bessho Onsen  earlier. Check out: Day 10 in Japan, Checking-In At Uematsuya. Just a bit more elaboration about the hotel here and in the next post, for the benefit of those who may be planning to spend a night (or two) there.

Staying in a Japanese Inn is an indulgence for us. A night in one can actually gives us five nights' stay at Toyoko-Inn, but it is an anticipated indulgence and we certainly are looking forward for another stay next year!

Uematsuya's entrance.

We got on the free shuttle provided for guests of the onsen area to our hotel and by the time our shuttle ride arrived, two staff were already waiting to greet us. Ushered in to complete our check-in process, we decided to let a group of Japanese guests checked-in first while we soak in the ambience of the hotel lobby.

A souvenir shop at the lobby selling local products

Bar area. A cup of coffe and a glass of wine, anyone?

Checking-in formalities done, we sat down in a nice corner with a lovely view of the courtyard outside and sipping tea. At the lobby, there were plenty of books including that Lonely Planet tome and mang a (of course those were of Summer Wars mang a; more info on that, click here).

At Uematsuya, one of the staff is quite fluent in English so no worries about "Lost in translation" moments while you are at the front desk. However, for us who like to do things the hard way, going to where there are English speakers are not fun anymore. He looked surprised when I tried to make small talk in Japanese with him, talking about the weather that day. (It was raining, by the way).

A Daruma doll that catches my eyes

And look what we found near the entrance and near the elevator. "Geta" for adults and really cute ones for children too. Guests can either use the slippers provided in their room or wear these when going out sightseeing.

And of course, this stunning and eye-catching"kabuto". There were photos of the proprietor in full samurai armour displayed in the lobby too. I gather that he wore them during one of the festivals in the area. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Talking about festivals; remember Bessho Onsen's manhole cover that I posted about earlier? The banners depicted on that manhole cover are designated as intangible national treasures.

The banners will be up and about during the Take-no-Nobori (banners) festival. It is a rather unusual festival held every summer to pray for sufficient rain.